Top 10 Disneyland Food Favorites

My family and I LOVE Disneyland and we are excitedly planning our family vacation. And although the rides, shows, and characters are some of our favorite things to experience in Disneyland, eating the FOOD is on the top of our list. We always have our favorites that we just HAVE to have when we take our annual trips. Don't you? Here we go... our Top 10 Disneyland Food Favorites...

1. Churros
2. Turkey legs
3. Kettle Corn
4. Pizza from Redd Rocket's Pizza Port
5. Mickey Face Pretzels
6. Dole Whip from the Tiki Juice Bar
7. Pomme Frites from Cafe Orleans
8. Fried Pickels at Carnation Cafe'
9. Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup at Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe'
10. Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Sandwich at Pooh's Corner bakery 

Have you tried any of these? This year we will be trying lots of the gluten free items that Disneyland has to offer. And since my wife and daughter are both gluten free, they are very excited that Disney offers delicious accommodations for them. Stay tuned for a post on that over at my wife's blog, Mine for the Making, in a few weeks.

So, what are some of your favorite foods to eat while at Disneyland? Leave your suggestions for us in the comments!

Gluten Free Deli Sandwich

Some people (read: my wife) call me the sandwich guru. I must admit that I do make a mean sandwich. Since my wife has been gluten free for a year now, I've learned a lot about the gluten free and paleo lifestyle. Check out this Gluten Free Deli Sandwich I made the other night featuring Udi's bread. 

Ingredients:

• Udis Gluten Free Bread
• Shaved Deli Style Turkey
• Cucumber
• Spinach
• Cheddar Cheese
• Salt & Pepper
• Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Roasted Garlic Hummus

Directions:

1. Pan heat the Bread on both sides with just a little cooking spray on the pan. 
2. Spread both pieces of the warm bread with a smear of the Roasted Garlic Hummus.
3. Cut a thick slice of the cheddar cheese.
4. Pile that shaved turkey as high as you are hungry. 
5. Thin slice the cucumbers and add them and a pinch of baby spinach leaves to a small bowl.
6. Add a light amount of the Balsamic Vinaigrette to the bowl and toss till coated evenly.
7. Add the contents of the bowl to the sandwich, season with salt & pepper lightly. 
8. Top with the other piece of Gluten Free Bread and enjoy! 

Tips & Tricks:
*I always take the Udis Gluten Free bread to a hot pan before assembling the sandwich. The bread always seems a little too dry and stiff for my liking and I think it really gives it a soft, fresh bread appeal that so many people on Gluten Free diets are missing (did I say missing I meant would kill for)
*And as long as we are sharing tips on using pans to heat food, wait till the pan is hot to put food in it! Im serious! If you dont hear that all fulfilling sizzle sound when anything enters your pan you are a little too eager!



Dont forget to Pin this!

Homemade Wing Sauce

How's it going foodies?!

It's football season and although we don't get into this sport as much as the rest of America, we will always indulge in any excuse to have hot wings. And let's be honest....every football party you go to will more than likely have wings as an appetizer or finger food for the guests. How about you bring the wings and why not make a Homemade Wing Sauce while you are at it? I shared this recipe on my wife's blog, Mine for the Making, and it's a must pin for sure. Check it out HERE.

Fancy Ham and Cheese

Okay! This one is from my chronicles of LEFTOVERS. Just so you know leftovers don't have to be so bad. Just stay away from your microwave and make something new from a bit of this and just a touch of that. Check out my Fancy Ham and Cheese recipe!

Ingredients:

• Jennie O Turkey Ham Steak (or the piggy stuff will work the same) 
• Salt & Black Pepper
• 4 tsp Honey or Agave Nectar
• 1 tsp soy 
• 1 tsp teriyaki sauce
• 1tsp of pineapple juice
• Cup of leftover rice {or packet of Uncle Ben's Ready Rice (cheese flavored)}
• 1/4 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 2 tsp Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

1. Get your pan nice and hot and coat it with some cooking spray.
2. When the pan (oil) starts to smoke drop the ham steak into the pan.
3. Let it cook for about 3 minutes on high and season evenly with salt and pepper.
4. Spray, lightly, the showing side of your ham steak and then flip it over.
5. Season the newly showing, browned side of your ham steak and begin drizzling honey.
6. Then add soy, teriyaki, and pineapple juice and drizzle with honey again.
7. These liquids will begin to char with the oil in the pan and glaze onto the ham.
8. After about 5 minutes of browning and glazing you are ready to do the rice.
9. Whether you have the easy packet rice (which is good, don't get me wrong) or some leftover pilaf from two nights ago this part is gonna take about the same amount of time. 90 seconds
10. Heat the pan and drop in the rice and just a few tsp of water to get the rice moist. 
11. Mix in the cheeses and stir it around a bit while seasoning (of course). 

Tips & Tricks:

If you want to make a plate look a little fancy, dress up the side dish. Just like I did with the cheesy rice in this plate. I cooked the rice and packed it into a small piece of tupperware. Tapped it gently out on to the plate and you could even go a little further by placing some form of fresh garnish on the top of the rice tower. Seems to me that kids also like destroying the sandcastle style food molds.

Smoked Mozzarella Spinach Dip

Hello there foodies!

I shared a delicious recipe for Smoked Mozzarella Spinach Dip on my wife's blog, Mine for the Making, a while ago and it is the bomb dot com. It goes great with homemade bagel baguettes. Go check it out!

Mini Gluten Free Cheesecakes

It's time for a dessert post, don't you think? My wife's favorite food is cheesecake. Yes, that's correct. Not just her favorite dessert, but her favorite food. One night when she expressed her extreme need for cheesecake and how long it had been since she had a slice, I decided to whip up some Mini Gluten Free Cheesecakes for her. I had all the ingredients on hand, so it was really no big deal at all.

Ingredients:

• Gluten Free Granola  (from Sprouts)
• 3 Eggs
• 1 8 oz. packaged of cream cheese (not whipped kind)
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• Vanilla to taste (approx. 1 tbsp)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar 
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon 
• Pinch of Salt
• 2 Strawberries 
• 1/3 cup of Strawberry preserves
• Cool Whip or fresh made whipped topping (whip some sugar and heavy cream: its easy!)

Directions:

1. Mix Eggs, 1/4 cup of sugar, softened cream cheese, and vanilla. 
2. Blend well.Set cheese filling aside and start preparation of the crust.
3. Mix Granola, butter, brown sugar and pinch of salt.
4. Spray a small cupcake pan and press the crust mixture into the bottom of each (1tbsp each)
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
6. Pour filling into each cup on the pan a little more than half full (they will rise)
7. When your oven is hot place the pan in the center of the oven and bake for 15 minutes then turn the pan 180 degrees for another 15 minutes. 
8. As you can see in my pictures you want to see the edges turn golden brown and pull away from the edges of the pan. When this happens do a toothpick check in the middle of one of the cakes. It may need a bit more time but perhaps turn off the oven and let them sit in the oven for a few extra minutes while it holds heat. 
9. Then cool on the counter for a few minutes, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge.
10. I then add a tsp of strwberry preserves, a thin slice of strawberry for garnish and a spoonful of whip on top. Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks:
***Cheesecake can be a bit tricky to get to raise properly. The temperature is temperamental inside that oven so use the light to check it rather than opening the oven door.
***My grandmother was truly a gifted baker and also taught me to slide a 9 x 13 half full of water right under the cheese cake on a lower rack shelf in the oven. The water vapors help to keep an even raise and a moist top as they come out to cool.
*** This recipe is easy to convert to a salted caramel cheese cake with some pre-made caramel sauce an sea salt or even melt a mini candy bar and pour over before chilling.

Follow me on Instagram and see even more of what I'm cooking in the kitchen... mixed with some real life stuff too.

not just a flippin sign

Okay, so like I said before advertising and marketing is my thing. But there's something about the 15 year old kid waving a sign at me that just doesn't "happenin joint". The whole sign thing revolves around visual impressions and being seen 'head and shoulders' about the 40 other restaurants in the immediate plaza and the 400 in the general vicinity. Apparently those 6 thousand dollar neon signs dont do anything but accent the ocean of stucco store fronts begging for consumers to draw near.

So, a new alternative to the same old thing... i put JP in a trench coat and a shiny disco shirt and had him strap in his IPOD for a little experiment. He went out holding (not flipping or throwing) his sign which only cost us $7.50 to have made (local sign shops should have comparative prices. He tried out every retarded dance on the corner that he could and in one after noon business quadrupled. After a full weekend of this during busy traffic periods at a nearby intersection we had drawn in enough new customers to last a year.

For the local neighborhood it was all about people knowing that there was even a restaurant located there. Since the businesses opening, over a year earlier, nobody had introduced the business to its local community. Community, meet JP.

No I am totally kidding. this is not my Sous Chef. But a great idea for drawing in business. The point is that you don't have to put a homeless man on the corner (wont reflect well on impressions of your eatery anyway) and putting a half naked girl on the corner is only going to bring you a certain kind of business that you really could do without anyway (unless your a trashy bar). Dancing and dressing up employees was a bright way to show that we are fun and it was definitely reflected.